does Mazuri work for you? Good/Bad

[NEtorts]

Maybe this should be in the debatable topics.....so feel free to move it if it becomes a debate..
Anyway, I have been resaerching Mazuri a bit and wondering what everyones experience is with it.... I have found a tractor supply store near my house and am told they can get it...
The ingredients puzzle me a bit, ...
Ground soybean hulls, ground corn, ground oats, dehulled soybean meal, wheat middlings, cane molasses, dehydrated alfalfa meal, wheat germ, soybean oil, dicalcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, brewers dried yeast, calcium carbonate, salt, DL-methionine, choline chloride, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (natural source vitamin E), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), biotin, L-lysine, tocopherols (a preservative), calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, folic acid, nicotinic acid, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite.

soybean, corn, molasses, alfalfa...everything i have read seems to point you away from those things for some torts,(desert species)
maybe it would be a great partial diet? or for me a wintertime staple and supliment with greens and hay?
Any thoughts are welcome

 

[samstar]

I have been feeding my torts Mazuri 6 days a week with excellent results.
They are addicted to it.

 

[NEtorts]

How long have you been feeding it and do you supliment with fresh greens/vegies/hay? do you soak it before feeding?
thanks for your reply

 

[samstar]

Yes I soak it in water for 20-30 seconds before feeding it to them, I have been feeding my torts Mazuri now for 2 years already. Every once in a while I feed them spring mix, hibiscus etc etc but it's like once a week.

 

[Shelly]

Never use it.

 

[EricIvins]

I've used an all Mazuri diet with a bunch of different Tortoise species and swear by the stuff........I usually don't get a chance to wet it before the majority of it is gone.......The bigger Torts don't really chew it, it usually goes down the gullet whole........

 

[GBtortoises]

Many people do not feed Mazuri as a staple, but feed it once or twice a week in addition to a staple diet of greens. Mazuri does have alot of questionable ingredients in it and according to the company's own ingredient values, 15% protein. I've only been using it for about two years, once a week mixed with greens. I have not seen any negative effects of using it. Many of my tortoises (mostly Northern Mediterranean species) don't care that much for it and most of the Mazuri I feed them ends up in the trash. My Marginateds of all ages and young Ibera seem to be the only ones really interested in the Mazuri chow. The rest waste it. In my case more definitely gets thrown away than is eaten. But with the exception of Marginateds, most of the species I keep aren't true grass eaters either.
I use Mazuri pellets as a vitamin and mineral supplement, not so much as a food source.

I also live in the Northeast, not as far north as you. I've never had a problem finding a good variety and quality of grocery store greens throughout the winter in my area. That is what I rely on to feed them throughout the fall, winter and early spring.

What is Tractor Supply charging for a 25 lb. bag? I'm curious because I live 15 minutes from a Tractor Supply but I buy my Mazuri from a Blue Seal feed dealer elsewhere.

 

[Laura]

i feed it dry. and it depends on how often. but maybe twice a week.. I supplement with it or use it when i cant go pick weeds. The two that eat it are in a smaller pen, and the grass is just starting to come back.
I buy it at the feed store. $22 for a 20 pound bag...

---

maybe its 25 pound...

 

[Robert]

Like GBTortoises, I consider it more of a supplement. I use 2x per week and I do moisten it before giving to my tort. Sometimes she eats it first, sometimes she eats it last. All I know is, she eats it!

 

[NEtorts]

tractor supply was looking into it as far as price goes, I do have a blue seal here too.... good thought I will check with them too, I dont have a problem getting fresh greens/veggies it just get expensive, I wish I could get the outdated stuff all the time......if I hit it right they mark down the produce as it approaches its shelf life... I love that its like winning the lottery!
Anyone ever asked a grocery store to save outdated produce for them? sometimes bread stores here will save their stuff for pig farmers.....

 

[jeffbens0n]

I feed it a couple times a week. Only as a supplement, always with greens, and soaked for approximately 1 minute first. My 3.5 year old leopard loves it and will seek it out in his pile of greens to eat it. My Russian, I have never seen actively pursue eating it, but he ends up eating most of it since its mixed with his greens, but some does go to waste with him.

 

[spikethebest]

I always use it, and all my torts, from hatchling size to adult love it!

 

[Mao Senpai]

I feed it to them once a week, I mix it into choped/sliced cactus and amount other greens. Greens at the store isn't usually that expensive for me... like 95 cents for a bunch of collards, turnips, mustard or like a dollar for dandelion greens. At least at stop and shop up here...

 

[Tom]

I too never used to use it. I also found the ingredients list very un-impressive. However, an overwhelming number of top tortoise people swear by it and I've seen nothing but excellent results. I started using it almost a year ago, after several people recommended it, and I've had nothing but good results too.

I feed it about twice a week, soaked and mixed with greens.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

We keep our Mazuri in a large tupperware container in the fridge. Does anyone else refrigerate their mazuri? Is it necessary?

 

[NEtorts]

very interesting, thanks for posting... keep it coming... it is hard to discredit it when so many succesful tort keepers use it... is there anyone out there who has had a major problem with it?

 

[Mao Senpai]

We keep our Mazuri in a large tupperware container in the fridge. Does anyone else refrigerate their mazuri? Is it necessary?

I.. have it in 3, 1 gallon zip lag bags just sitting next to the tortoise enclosures. Since well I got a whole ton of it not realizing how much 6lbs was. It's been several months and it still smells and looks the way it was out of the box.

On a different note, I do notice once the mazuri is moisten it has a limited time frame how long it does stay good for. After like 2 hours or something (sometimes I feed it to them before work and come home to clean it after) it starts to stink pretty bad, so leftovers should be cleaned within the same day.

The zoomed grassland food seems to be pretty good as well, I usually mix that with the mazuri and mix it with greens.

 

[terryo]

I also keep mine in zip lock bags in the refrigerator. In the Summer if I have any left over I put the bags in the freezer. Lasts forever.
During the Winter months, if I can't get out because of snow, I feed it to my torts and also my Boxies. Everyone loves it. I rarely feed it in the Summer. If I have greens available I will chop them up and mix it with the mazuri....fruit...anything I have on hand I'll will mix with it.

 

[Marty333]

The only problem I have had with it is that Nova loves it TOO much LOL I had stop feeding her it for a few days to get her to eat greens and fruits and then I slowly introduced mazuri back in. I keep it in a big plastic bag in my fridge also it keeps longer.

 

[GBtortoises]

"tractor supply was looking into it as far as price goes, I do have a blue seal here too.... good thought I will check with them too, I dont have a problem getting fresh greens/veggies it just get expensive, I wish I could get the outdated stuff all the time......if I hit it right they mark down the produce as it approaches its shelf life... I love that its like winning the lottery!
Anyone ever asked a grocery store to save outdated produce for them? sometimes bread stores here will save their stuff for pig farmers"

The best I've been able to get a 25 lb. bag around here for is about $26.00, not including sales tax. I buy about one bag every three months so I'm not going to get any kind of bulk purchase discount.

Fresh greens are definitely expensive, but I think a much better quality food than cuttings, which you wouldn't have much choice of what you're getting. Many years ago growing up on the farm we used to get cuttings and old produce from a couple of local grocery stores to feed our pigs and rabbits on top of their other foods. Most of it was pretty poor quality stuff, we threw away more than we used and finally stopped getting it altogether. I spend alot of money on tortoise food during the winter months! But I look at it as part of the commitment to keep them healthy and strong. The food during the warmer months are completely free for me if you don't consider the time, so I justify the spending by making myself believe that it evens out over the course of the year!

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